Covid kills Trini Lopez, 83

Covid kills Trini Lopez, 83

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norman lebrecht

August 13, 2020

The American folk-rock singer Trini Lopez has died in Palm Springs at 83 of the Coronavirus.

Aside from his ubiquitous Hammer hit, Lopez won fame as one of The Dirty Dozen, a film featuring Charles Bronson, Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes, Lee Marvin, Donald Sutherland and Telly Savalas.

 

Comments

  • Pianofortissimo says:

    I had no idea that Mr Lopez sang that tune. But the videoclip brough back memories of Rita Pavone singing Datemi un martello’- big fun:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGIXrziSLCQ

  • fred says:

    A giant, everybody at my home knew he was

  • Kevin Dump says:

    When will the devastation end? Every day, another tragic loss for the arts. We MUST find a vaccine NOW.

    • Bruce says:

      To be fair: yes, he did manage to live until age 83; but if he hadn’t contracted the virus he would still be alive. Maybe he would have preferred to live longer.

      • Sue Sonata Form says:

        It’s an issue which is now at the forefront of modern life. We have no idea about his health at 83 and whether it had become a burden, or not. Wouldn’t we all prefer to live longer? No; not if suffering dementia or other debilitating disease. Life only has a certain value and not an unlimited one – something you come to understand as you age.

        Trini had a successful life and we ought to be thankful for that.

      • Sharon says:

        I agree with Bruce. As someone who used to work in a nursing home and has parents in their late eighties I am disgusted with people who say that so and so has lived a long life so it is o.k. if they die.

        Worldwide older people have died in this Covid plague because of explicit and implicit decisions to ration care and triage out older people, especially if they are already in nursing homes.

    • Bill says:

      “Give me a break, Mr. Runchinald T. Pippler had a good run as an anonymous troll on the internet. His life and opinions should be considered inconsequential, not turned into anything anyone should care about. Shame on me for wasting five minutes of my life to bother responding to such pointless drivel”.

  • drummerman says:

    A wonderful pop star though I’m not sure that it’s accurate to say that he “won fame” with The Dirty Dozen. He had a small part, yes, but so did 11 other guys.

  • PaulD says:

    He had a hit with “Lemon Tree”, too.

    This brings me back to the early 1960s, and my brother playing the “Live at PJ’s” albums on the mono record player.

    • Greg Bottini says:

      Yes, PaulD, “Lemon Tree” was a favorite of mine.
      And I had that “Live at PJs” LP and a Sears Silvertone portable phonograph to play it on!
      R.I.P., dear Trinidad Lopez III.

  • Jeffrey Biegel says:

    His soft and gentle voice inspired me and many when we were kids. I’ll never forget wearing out the grooves of his LP records! He was a special singer and left the world a better place with his voice.

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